New ideas with salon products!

Well, I had to leave school today because of the monster bumpie I posted about back in May. Seriously?? Well, that one and a couple newbies that have decided to show up.

So the monster (right bikini line) has been there since April or May. It will drain a little, decrease in size, then flair up again. Today it started draining a bit. This causes a constant stinging / burning pain. There is also the pressure from clothing as well as weight. There is a pin hole size place that it started draining from this morning. I am glad it is draining again - hopeful that it will drain completely this time.

There are 3 newbies. One on the left bikini line, one on the right armpit, and the third one? I'm not going to disclose it's location.

My game plan for these:

I have already soaked in a bath with tea tree oil in it. Holy hell that burned the open monster!
The older boys are going to their father's house tonight, so I will try the teabag idea tonight after the little man is tucked in for the night. Someone else has suggested rubbing a radish on the area as well. Won't hurt to try!

I hope to be able to get some glycolic acid to try again. I used some Glycolic Acid 60% by Glo at school for two bumpies that I had last month, and it seemed to help tremendously. It completely destroyed one, a young one. The other did shrink. This was after one use.



Another HS Sufferer recently tried a Dermalogica product, Skin Renewal Booster, and came back with good reviews.

Both of these products are professional salon products that I am able to purchase wholesale. I will be trying these as soon as possible. I hope to have good reviews to report back to you soon.

I in the middle of a lifestyle change. Maybe it will help with the HS, maybe it won't. It certainly will not hurt me in any way shape or form.  If you are interested in that side of my life, I would love to have you follow along and join me on that journey. I am the  MidnightWorkoutPrincess. That blog is a bit more me. I show more of my personality - less boring. =)

Just as a reminder...the purpose of THIS blog is for research and information regarding a health condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Nothing in any of the posts should be considered advise, recommendations, diagnosis or anything similar. I am a single HS sufferer who is attempting to find ways to help with my condition.

Posting from my phone... Interesting

So I haven't posted in a while because the computer has been acting a fool, so I decided to try to post via iPhone. The lag while typing is crazy annoying, so this may or may not be an option for this. Found a new bumpie last night. Great, a new place or area is now involved. It is on the upper part of my inner left thigh. At least there is not as much pressure on it as in the other places. As of last night it was about dime size and there was no change over night. I put some tea tree oil on it in hopes that it will get the message that it is unwelcome here. I hope tO be able to put a spent tea bag on it today or tonight as suggested by another HS sufferer has recommended. Cosmetology school is going great. I am hopeful to graduate by mid November...ish. And the lag and typing this much with the thumbs is more annoying than expected. Anyone want to send me a new laptop? :)

Monster Bumpie Pain

So I've had this one bumpie on my bikini line for quite some time now. It's been really small, and not all that bothersome considering. Apparently I've made it angry. Yes, I did consume some (read: a lot!!) of caffeine last weekend. Maybe (probably) that's why I'm now in such dire pain that I'm ready to be shot, hung, given lethal injection, electric chair - hell, I'm not picky - someone just put me out of my misery! 

So this angry monster has grown to be a bit bigger than a golf ball. Now that is some serious pain, y'all! I just thought I couldn't get comfortable before. I can't even walk straight.  Add 5 year-old knees and elbows that somehow always find their way to that exact spot to pull said kid into my lap. That's 45 pounds of pressure! OUCH!! He doesn't know he's hurting me. He doesn't do it on purpose. That doesn't keep me from howling out in pain causing his "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry mommy. I love you. I don't mean to hurt you!" which ultimately makes me feel like crap for hurting his feelings. sigh

It's been golf ball + sized for almost a week now. The longest week of my entire life thus far. Yes, even longer than that last week of pregnancy when you're waiting anxiously to meet that beautiful child that has been using your innards as a trampoline for the past several months. (Guys...that's a very long week. I'm not sure there is a scenario to compare this to for y'all.) 
It finally started to drain a little bit this morning. This is a slow and painful process. It burns something terrible. Seriously, I'm so done with this. There has got to be a way to speed up this process.

Summer time in Texas is here. Oh, I know, the calender says otherwise. In central Texas there are two whole seasons. Winter and Summer. Oh my stars this is set to be a bad summer in the HS world. Please someone develop  a treatment for this. Someone please find a cure.
I'm trying really really hard to keep a positive attitude, and not stress out. It ain't easy, but I have to do it. It's the only thing that MIGHT help.
The end.

There go my dreams.

So the bumpies are starting to drain and / or disappear. That's a plus. Now I'm expecting them to come back with a vengeance due to the amount of stress I just got dumped on me.

My father has decided to be his own doctor, and has decided that he doesn't need to take some of his medication. He's the one that watches Reagan for a couple of hours every morning when I go to school and before my in-laws come pick him up to take him to school. I have never let my dad watch Reagan for any extended period of time due to his medical conditions and him always being sleepy. But a couple of hours he's been fine. Well, with this new information, I can't leave Reagan alone with him anymore. At all. So, my dreams have to halt now because of this. I don't know what options I'm going to have now. I'm going to have to go talk with my school director tomorrow and find out what I can do. I know that a leave of absence can only be 30 days long. After that I guess you're dropped. When school is out for summer for the kids, it should be a bit easier as the older 3 can be here (until two-a-days begin again), and when the new school year starts it will be fine since Reagan will be in kindergarten full day instead of half day pre-K. The problem is, both of these events are more than 30 days from happening. I seriously don't need this stress right now.

So, there go my dreams. I was really hoping to graduate on time (December) from cosmetology school. Now I wonder if I'll be able to graduate at all.

Where is the relief?

Wow, it's been awhile since I've written anything here. I've been so busy lately, and having so many ridiculous flair-ups I haven't had time to set down and type. I'm exhausted!
So, you who read my blog regularly know that I sometimes share information that may be a bit much to stomach for some. Here's my content warning: If you have a weak stomach, are easily "grossed out", tend to read something and feel sorry for someone, or judge people based on things they cannot control (sadly I know many like this), stop reading here. Do NOT read this whole post. You have been warned.

So I thought I had both the HS and the IBS under control. Boy was I wrong! (New readers, if you're wondering what HS is, click this link for my blog post that gives more info. )  So the HS is rearing it's ugly head again. This is not the first outbreak I've had since my last post, just haven't felt like blogging. Too tired, drained, emotionally and physically exhausted. I have them both in the southern region (2 quarter size, 1 grape size)  as well as in the arm pit (one pea size, one BB size). The IBS has been acting up for about two weeks now. I'm back on the probiotics, and have added a second one. With any luck at all they will start doing a bit of good soon. It's really sad that I can't do the things I want to do because I'm not sure I can get more than 100 feet from the restroom. Can you say this sucks!!?? I can. My doctor recently put me on some antidepressants. I'm praying for some relief from the stress with it, which should help both the HS and the IBS. I'm tired of being sick. Tired of the insecurity.  Tired of the wounds.

I'm still doing the tea tree oil applied directly to the bumpies. While it doesn't seem to make them go away, it does give a bit of temporary relief. When I say temporary, I mean really temporary. Like five to ten minutes temporary. Hey, that's five to ten minutes I don't have the excruciating pain, I'll take it! I've also started trying soaks in a bath with peppermint oil. It seems to help a bit as well. Still I have found nothing that takes the pain and inflammation away. I'm still working on that. Someone said to try spent tea bags while they are still warm and moist applied to the area. If I can get some time without kids in the house I may try it. Hell, at this point, I'm willing to try just about anything. Within reason.

I have also considered waxing. I would surely have to do it on my own at home as there are multiple reasons I wouldn't have it done by someone else. 1. I will NOT remove my top in front of anyone so that my arm pit can be waxed. 2. I will NOT remove my britches in front of anyone so that the southern region can be waxed. 3. Although it is not a contagious condition, I am fairly certain that people would be hesitant to wax. I've told you...it's rather gross.  Where is the relief? Why can't I be normal, whatever that is. ;~)

So, that's all I've got for tonight. I guess this one wasn't that bad. =)

About to name it!

So for my new readers, if you're still wondering what HS is, you can get some info by clicking here what is tHiS. This is a link to my first entry on this blog where I pseudo explained HS, gave the jist of it anyway. If you want more detailed information here's where you click. Just beware of any images the web may show you. It's NOT pretty by any stretch. I will tell you it's not an STD, and it's not contagious.

Last time I blogged I had several bumpies in places we don't speak of. As of now I have 2 that are still hanging out and a new one that is deep and has yet to surface. One of the existing ones that's still hanging out...I'm considering giving it a name. Seriously. It's been here for a while now and is about the size of a large shooter marble, maybe a little bigger.

Large Shooter Marble

I'm out of Epsom Salts. The Tea Tree Oil is helping some, which is good. Just wish it would help more. I'm so done with this pain. We did a mini-lesson about aromatherapy in class last week. In that we took down some info about Tea Tree and other essential oils. There are several that I'm considering trying next. Who knows, maybe I'll finally find something that will help.
I tried an Arm & Hammer paste. Seemed to cool the area a bit if nothing else. Hey, I'll take all I can get at this point. I need something to work. I thought of this when I was doing my facial the other evening. You can make this paste and use it to draw out the venom after an insect or spider sting, so maybe it will work here. I'll keep trying.
I found someone online that was selling an ebook about how she CURED her HS. Ok, here are my issues with this.
                   * There is no cure for this condition. If this person has found a cure she needs to be contacting some medical research companies or something and selling her recipe to them.
                   * Why the heck wouldn't she just tell other HS sufferers how she "cured" her HS instead of trying to sell it for $17 a pop. GREED!
                   * All HS sufferers know that what may put me into remission may not put them into remission and visa verse. Some people have things that work for them while others are still searching for what will work.

That's what makes this condition so frustrating! I've gotten so much advice on what people have done I'd be blue in the face if I attempted to repeat it all. Some of the things worked and some didn't. The ones that did...only temporary. The ones that did....not on every bumpie. It's frustrating. Depressing. Painful. Irritating. Voodoo.  I try really hard to fight all of these feelings, sometimes it's all I can do to hide it from those around me. I don't want my kids to see me less than strong. Here I go with my music again. I try really hard to put it all in His hands, this is a battle I can't fight on my own. It is hard at times not to question Him, but I have to remember that He is the ultimate healer.

I want to be rid of this. I should be happy that my arm pit has not had any flairs in a while. I am happy about that. I wish I knew why or how that are went into remission. I don't think I did anything different to the last ones than I've done in the past or to the ones in places we don't speak of. Maybe there's just too much scar tissue and tunneling going on in the arm pit.

Ok, so my action plan is to pick up some new essential oils ASAP and try them. I'll report on those as I try them. Not sure when that will be. I don't know how I'm going to get gas for school this week.

Maybe this is why I'm having such a hard time healing the ones I currently have. Maybe I'm having too much stress going on, too much worry.  I'm serious about naming this one tho. Any suggestions?

***Added info***
I should really go back and read through my old posts more often. I just read I think I may be on to something , posted in October. I had forgotten about the experiment I was trying at that time. May have to bust out with that one again. I'll use that until I can get some more oils. Still need something for pain.

No Title Tonight.

Normally I title my blog entry before I begin typing it. There is so much going on right now I'm not sure what to call this one. New HS bumpies, new stress, waiting and wondering...the list goes on and on. Music isn't helping this time. Usually music is a very therapeutic thing for me. This time, not so much. I keep going back to Fist City although this is a different situation. I feel like beating the snot out of someone. But I'm a lover, not a fighter. =) Then I think about Every Rose Has It's Thorn If you click this link, you should understand why it is I chose this version. I'm listening to it now and in tears.

So Reagan is being tested for T1D (Type 1 Diabetes; AKA Juvenile onset diabetes) I am certainly beside myself. Ryan doesn't get it, but I'm preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. He thinks I'm being morbid and have convinced myself that he has it. Not true, I'm just getting ready for it. Just in case. Will it be the end of the world? No. Are there millions of kids who have T1D and lead happy normal lives? Yes. Are any of them MY baby? No.

So, yeah....stress level has been a bit over the limit recently. My emotions are running everywhere. I'm not sleeping well. I am in pain. I have new bumpies. I'm in a FML moment. I have to throw this in there really quick. Since I post a link to this blog on facebook and I have many new facebook friends who have most likely never read my blog or heard of HS (Hidradenitis Suppurativa) please note...I am not looking for pity. I don't want you to feel sorry for me. If you want to talk to me about anything you read here, please feel free to ask / say what you want by leaving a comment here, facebook comment or message, or even in person. But please, DO NOT PITTY ME OR FEEL SORRY FOR ME OR TREAT ME ANY DIFFERENTLY BASED ON WHAT YOU ARE / ARE ABOUT TO READ!
Now that that's covered.... So the HS has reared it's ugly head again. In places we don't speak of. This time there are multiple bumpies in this area, 1 on one side, 2 on the other side, and 1 on the back side. They are causing some serious pain. Again it hurts to walk, stand, sit, lay down...live... The Epsom salt baths seem to be offering minimal and temporary relief, which is so much better than nothing at all. I just wish it would do more. School should be interesting with this. Ugh! I'm trying Tea Tree oil applied directly, undiluted. One of them is a bit more sensitive than the others. It's not open or draining at this point but it BURNS!  I guess I should look at that as a good sign. Maybe it's getting ready to start draining. I hope it is.

Well, that's all I have tonight. Except that whole quit smoking thing I was doing so well at....well that's over. For now. I plan to try again. When things settle down a bit I will try again.